Braving rain, a supporter of Myanmar鈥檚 National League for Democracy party shouts slogans outside the NLD headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi鈥檚 NLD party was confident Monday that it was headed for a landslide victory in Myanmar鈥檚 historic elections, as the democracy icon urged supporters not to provoke losing rivals who mostly represent the former junta that ruled this Southeast Asian nation for a half-century. AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe
YANGON, Myanmar 鈥� Voices rang out in unison Monday, as hundreds of jubilant people gathered outside the opposition party headquarters where images of Aung San Suu Kyi were being shown on large-screen TVs. Results from Myanmar鈥檚 historic election were still not final, but opposition leaders were convinced of success and their supporters were celebrating.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the people鈥檚 leader who the whole world knows,鈥� the crowds sang. 鈥淲rite your own history in your hearts for our future so the dictatorship will end. Go, go, go away dictatorship.鈥�
From street vendors to intellectuals to former political prisoners who suffered torture and imprisonment, pro-democracy supporters were jubilant at the idea of a Suu Kyi victory, and the weakening of a military-backed regime in a country where iron-fisted generals have held sway for half a century.
Even some pro-government voters hailed Sunday鈥檚 general election, if only in hopes that a new government would bring improvement to their lives in one of the world鈥檚 most impoverished nations. Celebrations were occurring across the country, but enthusiasm probably ran highest around the headquarters of Suu Kyi鈥檚 National League for Democracy in Yangon, where her spokesmen said the party was headed for a landslide victory. Final official results are not expected until Tuesday at the earliest.
Even some foreign tourists got caught up in the atmosphere, posing for photographs after donning T-shirts and headbands with the NLD鈥檚 鈥渇ighting peacock鈥� logo.
鈥淚 think Mother Suu will win. She must win,鈥� said Thet Paing Oo, a 24-year-old fruit seller, referring to the leader with an affectionate term that many people here use. 鈥淭here will be more freedom in our country if the NLD wins. Our country will be better. Our lives will be better.鈥�
While not without problems, the election appeared to have passed generally freely.
鈥淭his election has given the people an opportunity to voice their will, and the groundswell of people鈥檚 support provides some sense of solace for the people who have suffered and made sacrifices for the past 30 years,鈥� said Ko Ko Gyi, a former student leader and one of thousands of people imprisoned during the military鈥檚 rule.
Journalists and monitors were even given access to voting on a vast military base in Naypyitaw, the capital city that is home to most military leaders and top civil servants. Even in Naypyitaw, some supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party said they hoped the election would bring change and a better future.
A soldier鈥檚 wife, 31-year-old Lu Ti, said she liked both current President Thein Sein and Suu Kyi, who was 鈥渁lso good in her own way.鈥�
Political analyst Yan Myo Thein said he was 鈥渧ery happy with the election outcome,鈥� adding that he now hoped for a smooth transfer of power. The junta annulled the results after Suu Kyi swept the polls in 1990.
The military relinquished formal power in 2011 when Thein Sein, who chairs the USDP, began some tentative reforms. But many in Myanmar view him as a puppet of the still-powerful generals.
Even with a commanding victory, the NLD will have its work cut out in Parliament, where 25 percent of seats are reserved for the military. Suu Kyi herself cannot become president since a constitutional amendment bars anyone with a foreign spouse or husband from holding the position. Suu Kyi鈥檚 late husband was British, as are her two sons.
Suu Kyi has insisted, though, that the constitution will not keep her down if the NLD wins, saying she will 鈥渂e above the president.鈥�